Athletics sweep Rangers to win AL West on last day OAKLAND 12, TEXAS 5

By JANIE McCAULEYAP Baseball Writer

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Same chaotic, champagne dance-party scenein the clubhouse just two days later. New T-shirt: AL Westchampions.

The Oakland Athletics won the division title with anotherimprobable rally in a season full of them, coming back from fourruns down and a 13-game division deficit to stun the two-timedefending league champion Texas Rangers 12-5 on Wednesday.

"We knew this is a beast of a team we would have to beat, and tobe able to beat them three games in a row and win the divisionon top of it, really it's a magical-type thing," manager BobMelvin said.

Josh Hamilton dropped a fly ball in center field for a two-runerror that put the A's (94-68) ahead 7-5 in a six-run fourthinning. The A's only added to Texas' troubles the rest of theway.

While Hamilton's Rangers (93-69) are headed to the new one-game,wild-card playoff at home against Baltimore on Friday, the A'sget two days off off before opening the division series atDetroit on Saturday in their first postseason appearance since2006.

"You can have all the experience as you want but when you runinto a team that's hot, experience has nothing to do with it,"Texas manager Ron Washington said.

The A's needed a sweep and they delivered to win their firstdivision crown in six years and 15th in all. They overcame afive-game deficit in the final nine days and took solepossession of the West's top spot for the first time this year.

"It shows how important Game 162 is," Oakland's Jonny Gomessaid. "I don't think it took 162 to games to check the characterof this ballclub."

Grant Balfour retired Michael Young on a fly to center for thefinal out, then raised his arms in the air as the A's streamedout of the dugout and began bouncing up and down in the infield.

"2012 AL WEST CHAMPIONS" flashed on the scoreboard two daysafter the A's clinched a playoff spot Monday and held a wilddance party in the clubhouse.

"I'm glad there's not one tomorrow or Friday," owner Lew Wolffsaid. "I can relax and go home. I'm running out of underwear."

Players high-fived fans while taking a victory lap through therundown Coliseum, where the outfield still has a light patch ofgrass from football in the venue shared by the NFL's Raiders.

Soon, the celebratory champagne and beer made its way to thefield - and players sprayed it into the stands. The A's returnedto the field almost an hour later to greet fans still gatheredalong the top of the dugout.

Oakland pulled off another remarkable performance in a seasondefined by thrilling walkoffs, rallies and whipped-cream piecelebrations by a team that was never supposed to be here.

A club that trailed Texas by 13 games on June 30. A club with a$59.5 million payroll, lowest in baseball. General manager BillyBeane found ways to get a blue-collar franchise back to theplayoffs for the first time since being swept by Detroit in the2006 AL championship series.

Coco Crisp hit a tying two-run double in the fourth againstDerek Holland (12-7) and Brandon Moss drove in three runs,including a two-run single in the four-run eighth.

Rookie winning pitcher Evan Scribner (2-0) left the mound in thesixth to a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 30,067. Heallowed two hits and struck out two in three scoreless inningsafter replacing struggling starter A.J. Griffin.

Ryan Cook, pitching for a fifth consecutive game, gave up adouble to Nelson Cruz before retiring the next three Texashitters with strikeouts of David Murphy and Mike Napoli. CatcherDerek Norris pumped his right arm as the Coliseum fans jumped totheir feet.

Norris then homered leading off the bottom of the eighth for hissecond RBI. It was his seventh homer and Oakland'smajors-leading 112th since the All-Star break.

"Ever since Day 1 I've been here, it's been, the A's can'tcompete with the payroll, can't compete with this team or thatteam," Norris said. "We're better off if we're down. It justgives us the extra energy."

The A's join the NL West champion San Francisco Giants asdivision champions. The Bay Area is already buzzing about apossible Bay Bridge World Series like the 1989 championshipswept by Oakland, one interrupted by an earthquake.

Hamilton's miscue while charging forward might haunt the to-befree agent if his Rangers don't get past their wild-card game.

"I just missed it, man," Hamilton said. "You guys have a hardtime believing we can forget about it and move ahead. But that'swhat we get paid to do."

Murphy's two-run single highlighted a five-run third inning thatput Texas in prime position.

In the fourth, Moss drew a leadoff walk and Josh Reddickfollowed with an RBI double. Josh Donaldson singled and SethSmith's base hit made it 5-3 and chased Ryan Dempster with noneout and runners on first and second.

Washington turned to the lefty Holland, a starter who was taggedfor four runs in the first inning of the second game of Sunday'sdoubleheader with the Angels before working into the seventh.

He retired the first two batters before Crisp's double down theright-field line.

The only other teams to come back from at least 13 games down towin the division were the 1914 Boston Braves, the 1951 New YorkGiants, the `78 Yankees and the `95 Seattle Mariners.

Oakland accomplished this with an ever-changing roster managedby Melvin in his first full season as skipper. They lost thirdbaseman Scott Sizemore to a knee injury on the first full day ofspring training workouts, never promoted slugger Manny Ramirezfrom the minors before parting ways, and dealt with devastatinginjuries all year long.

Opening day starter Brandon McCarthy took a line drive to thehead Sept. 5 that required surgery and ended his season, BrettAnderson missed most of the year coming off Tommy John surgery,and Dallas Braden never pitched because of shoulder problems.Starter Bartolo Colon received a 50-game suspension in Augustfor a positive testosterone test.

Third baseman Brandon Inge needed shoulder surgery last monthand prized Cuban rookie Yoenis Cespedes missed time with a pairof injuries in May and June.

And that's just the beginning for a team that traded awaycatcher Kurt Suzuki to the Nationals during the year afterswapping three top pitchers during the offseason - Trevor Cahillto Arizona, NL Cy Young Award favorite and 21-game winner GioGonzalez to Washington and All-Star closer Andrew Bailey toBoston.

"There hasn't been a lot of luck involved," said Beane, whoreceived a celebratory pie in the face. "The one thing aboutbaseball, when you play 161 games, you don't get lucky this latein the season. There have been a lot of adjustments on the fly."

NOTES: The A's, whose 14 walkoff victories lead baseball, wontheir seventh game this year after trailing by four or moreruns. ... The A's won the season series 11-8, just the secondtime in seven seasons they've done so. ... The sellout crowdincluded 1,000 standing-room only tickets. ... Holland pitchedin relief for the second time this year.

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